Now that 2012 is coming to a close I thought it was time to share my favorite divorce-related blog posts of the year. Each of these posts is an excellent post on the topic it dealt with and is worth your time in reading. Without further ado, here are the best divorce posts of 2012.

Moving Towards Co-Parenting – A very insightful post by Lee Brochstein about her personal divorce experiences. This particular post is on improving her relationship with her ex and how much that helped their co-parenting relationship.

CBS has reported a very bizarre triple homicide that, assuming it turns out to be accurate, is astounding. The story goes like this…a husband and wife were going through a contentious divorce, with the most significant part of the case being that the husband felt like he should be entitled to a share of a piece of real estate that wife had inherited. California law apparently is similar to Texas law in that the real estate was wife’s separate property and husband had no legal claim to it, due to the fact that it had been inherited by wife.

I have been asked this question more times than I can count during my career. More often, it is stated to me as fact, as in “well my child is over twelve, so she gets to decide who she wants to live with.” This belief is based on a misinterpretation of a very real Texas Family Code statute concerning the wishes of a child twelve or older.

There was a bit of a stir in the media this week when a Utah lawmaker proposed a bill that would give family court judges the authority to consider fault when deciding the issue of alimony in a divorce case. The news reports I have seen are unclear on whether this bill would modify the law to make it permissible for a judge to award alimony solely upon a finding of adultery by the payor spouse, or if it would simply allow the judge who has determined that a spouse is eligible to receive alimony to factor in the bad conduct in determining the amount and duration of the alimony award. Continue reading →

I was recently asked by someone going through a divorce whether she had the right to switch lawyers during the case. The answer to her explicit question is yes, absolutely. A party to a lawsuit has the right to hire any licensed attorney they choose to represent them, including the right to change lawyers while a case is pending.

Many people going through a divorce are not familiar with what mediation entails. This article will describe the process and explain its uses and benefits in a divorce case.

What Mediation Is and What It Is Not

Mediation is essentially a settlement conference attended by both parties and both lawyers and facilitated by a third-party mediator who attempts to get the clients to reach an agreement on all issues in their case. Continue reading →

Temporary Orders are orders issued by a court during a divorce case (and sometimes in modifications) that address how things will proceed while the divorce is pending. There are many different issues that temporary orders can deal with, including but not limited to these common ones:

Use of Property – For example, who gets to stay in the residence while the divorce case is pending. Continue reading →

One of the most common misunderstandings about Texas family law involves informal or “common law” marriages. Many people believe that after you live together for a certain period of time you automatically become married, even if neither party wants to be. This is not true in Texas, nor in any other state that I am aware of.

How Can You Get Married Without a Wedding?

It is possible to become married without the usual requirements of obtaining a marriage license, waiting at least 72 hours and then having a wedding ceremony. Continue reading →

It doesn’t happen that often but occasionally in my practice a divorcing couple will decide that they want to work on the marriage and not go through with the divorce.

Most of the time this happens very early in a case, although I have occasionally seen it even after we have reached a settlement. I suppose it can be a real wake up call to someone when their spouse files for divorce. They might realize that the situation is a lot more serious than they previously thought and they decide to really put their best foot forward to try to save the marriage before it is too late. Sometimes this works, sometimes Continue reading →

It is not uncommon for us to be the second law firm in a divorce case, after the client has grown frustrated with the lack of progress or success that the first lawyer had. Here are what I believe are the keys to choosing the right divorce lawyer. If you would prefer to watch a video I did on this subject, you can view one on the Morgan Law Firm Austin divorce site.

Hire Someone Focused Exclusively on Family Law

One of the common denominators I have seen in divorce clients who are unhappy with their attorney is Continue reading →